A Man Just Tight Rope Walked Across A Gorge Near The Grand Canyon With No Safety Net For 23 Minutes And Survived

UPDATE:He made it! After nearly 23 minutes,
Nik Wallenda is the first human to ever cross the Little Colorado
River Gorge on a wire.

Daredevil Nik Wallenda has a wife, three children, and he's been
training for one moment his entire life:

To tightrope walk across the Grand Canyon without any safety net
or harness. Making it across means life, falling means death.

The National Park Service would never allow a stunt like this
over the Grand Canyon — so Wallenda
had to settle for the "little Grand Canyon" over the gorge of
the Colorado River near Cameron, Arizona, on tribal lands of the
Navajo Nation.

Wallenda's grandfather died before viewers' eyes on live
television trying to do a similar, harness-free walk.

"Thank you Jesus," Wallenda kept repeating with each step.
"You're my king, you're my protector, you're my shield, you're my
strength, you're my lord." He battled high winds and balanced
with a 45 pound bar on the 2-inch wire. He reached the half-way
point on the wire at the 11:30 minute mark.

The quarter-mile walk at 1,500 feet in the air took more than 20
minutes — in winds ranging from a safe 18 mph to a more
treacherous 30 mph. Wallenda knelt twice to wait out the stronger
wind.

Here's his bio on Discovery's website:

Nik Wallenda is known as 'The King of the High Wire.' He is the
seventh generation of the legendary Great Wallendas and began
walking the wire at age 4. He and his family have performed some
of the most famous stunts in the world, but no one else has ever
dared to take on the Grand Canyon.

His incredible
walk was aired on the Discovery Channel Sunday evening on
a live feed.